![]() However, when the pieces finally do fall into place, this strange narrative withholding starts to make sense, even if the answers are completely unexpected. More fights and chases ensue, building to an armed collision that brings a whole new meaning to “automatic weaponry.” No character’s motivation is ever quite clear except Deva’s (the righteous, godlike protection of innocents), but the action is so absorbing and overwhelming that making sense of the story becomes a secondary concern. ![]() ![]() Blood and limbs fly in all directions, as Neel and DP Bhuvan Gowda turn the contrast up on their desaturated images, making each environmental element - dust, rain, even drops of blood - even more noticeable. When the first major action scene finally arrives, “Salaar” indulges in gratuitous hero worship, as slo-mo shots revere not only Prabhas’ stature, build and poise, but his reluctance to engage in the ritual of cinematic violence. The screen jitters each time righteous bloodshed crosses Deva’s mind. Presenting snippets of memories in which Deva’s brutality is impressionistically implied, Neel creates immense anticipation for the action to come. The only people capable of protecting Shruti from a nationwide manhunt are a now-adult Deva and his mother, who are hiding out as a day laborer and a school teacher in the eastern state of Assam. Various armed factions are on the hunt for a young woman, Aadhya (Shruti Haasan), the daughter of a prominent industrialist who has in some way wronged a powerful Indian politician and her catatonic sister. This prologue swiftly gives way to a contemporary, mile-a-minute tale of vengeance and surveillance, in which new characters are introduced faster than the mind can comprehend. Before long, Vardha returns the favor by helping Deva and his mother (Easwari Rao) escape a threat left similarly nonspecific, and as they enter self-imposed exile, Vardha brands Deva his “salaar”: a one-man army called upon in a time of need - a position he claims dates back to Persian kings. In order to protect the honor of his best friend Vardha - the son of the powerful Mannar family, though who they are is initially vague - he defeats an adult wrestler in innovative but self-destructive fashion, leaving him with a distinctive scar up his arm and neck. Opening with a series of flashbacks, “Salaar: Part 1” swiftly establishes a teenage Deva as both loyal and fearsome. However, each extraneous segment eventually converges in some of the most exhilarating and cathartic on-screen violence Indian cinema has to offer. ![]() At 174 minutes long, with nested flashbacks overflowing with exposition, the movie has lengthy stretches that can feel like a chore. Rajamouli’s “Baahubali” series) as the silent, stewing protagonist Deva, in a grimy guns-and-gangsters melodrama.Īt first, the story plays its cards close to its chest before transforming wildly and suddenly into a mythological epic about secret societies and millennia-old blood feuds. After his previous two-parter “K.G.F.” smashed Indian box-office records for Kannada-language films, director Prashanth Neel employs the talents of ultra-charismatic superstar Prabhas (the star of S.S. Leaning full-tilt into its duology structure, Tollywood action drama “ Salaar: Part 1 – Ceasefire” has a winding, often confounding narrative aimed at building up a sequel, but its maximalist action tableaus always yield dividends.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |